Our cities aren’t safe either

Jan 9, 2013, 12.00AM ISTTNN[ Tanvi Trivedi & Abhimanyu Mishra ]

Our cities aren’t safe either

The brutal Delhi gangrape case has brought to the fore the critical issue of women safety in public spaces.

In this context, it's time to ask how safe is Gujarat for women really? Cities like Ahmedabad and Vadodara have had their share of horror stories and incidents of regular molestation and eve teasing in public spaces like malls, multiplexes, BRTS, late night parties at farmhouses. Even commuting by two-wheelers and auto rickshaws are problem areas. The fear factor has shot up several notches than it was earlier, making driving or commuting alone on the streets of major cities no longer safe. Not only this, the safety of women has really come under the scanner, with single women and women staying alone in the city facing the brunt of unwanted attention from anti-social elements.

Public transport is a menace

Rajesh Dave, a senior retired banking professional commutes to Kankaria regularly through BRTS and sends a word of caution, when he emailed AT mentioning how women are no longer safe in these buses. He says, "The way men behave with women in these buses is not even worth mentioning here. In areas like Dani Limda and West Ahmedabad, I regularly see men troubling women, using abusive language, eve-teasing, molesting and even following them to their homes."

Chandni Dalal, an event manager witnessed how a group of youngsters continuously troubled college girls who were waiting for the bus and loudly hurling abusive words at them. "The girls kept quiet and did not reciprocate which motivated them further and they continued to misbehave till an elderly gentleman intervened and shooed them away." At bus stands near Law Garden, many a times women get a raw deal by car drivers making offensive passes. Autorickshaw drivers can be serious menace too. Young journalist, Ankita Patel, had a horrifying experience when she hired an auto rickshaw and found him drunk! She says, "Rickshaw drivers and young men on bikes constantly trouble single women traveling in rickshaws."

Talking about her experience in Surat, Reema Narang, a student of engineering, says, "Surat is a relatively safe city if you compare it to Ahmedabad but it does has its flaws too. I've experienced a few incidents where guys on bikes have followed me when I've been alone."

Farmhouse parties, late night movies are no longer safe

DJ Roopalee never travels alone to parties held at farmhouses on the outskirts of the city. She always has two team members accompanying her. While earlier she used to travel by two-wheelers (after eve-teasing issues), she now only travels in a car. She says, "People pretend that Ahmedabad is a safe city, but when it comes to parties, young women should not go to every party they are invited to. Men get out of control after a few drinks and there are regular incidents of eve-teasing, molestation and even instances of men beating up women at these parties. One should attend farmhouse parties only with close friends and when you have a proper reliable means of transport or have someone to drop you home safely."

Manisha Shah was coming back from a late night movie at a multiplex in Bopal, when she was stopped by a biker, who threatened her with a gun. Manisha did not give in and had a narrow escape. She says, "Late night movies is great, but make sure you are accompanied by a friend who is following you in his car or do not go for such outings." With her jewellry business in full swing in Surat this 29-year-old Suman Aggarwal from Bihar says, "I have been living in Surat for three years now and I haven't seen a safer city than this. I've lived in a PG accommodation and luckily I've never experienced anything unsafe about the city."

Dirt biking's a menace for women travelling on two-wheelers

Everyone in the city knows how dirt biking is something that guys enjoy on the IIM-A roads and the SG Highway. Ritika Dutt, a writer, was blocked by four such bikers when she was travelling back home around 11 pm. She tried to speed her vehicle and flee, but the bikers followed. It's only when she apologised (sic), the bikers let her go. Female students at leading campuses do face eve-teasing by outsiders quite regularly. Similarly, women also feel that driving a two-wheeler is no longer safe in the city. Suman Rathod, a beautician is often teased for her appearance and followed by guys. She says, "Guys get this sadistic pleasure in using abusive language against women. They even play item songs in their cars and insult women."

Word of caution

Atul Karwal, Joint Director of Gujarat Police Academy has a set of guidelines for women commuting alone on the roads. He says, "Women should be aware and alert of their surroundings. They should have a strong instinct of the kind of place they are visiting and only then venture to such a place. The minute they find a slight misbehaviour, she should call out for people's help and report it to the police. Both men and women should learn martial arts. So if a man or a woman knows martial arts, she will be able to protect herself initially. Also, the confidence of being self-sufficient puts a psychological barrier to people in approaching them." (With inputs from Shivangani Sandeep Dhawan)